Pages

Saturday, November 23, 2013

You walk together hand-in-hand
across the sky of the Sacred Earth Mother,
walking with great beauty
with your robes of stars trailing along behind you as the milky way,
you walk on rainbows
coming to us in the sacred hoop.

Your gifts of love keep the heart of we,
the two legged people, beating with the breath of life.
We stand before you with our hearts filled
from the Sacred Mountain.

We ask only to give away and share the gifts of this hoop,
this sacred ceremony, as we come out of this circle
into this land of beauty that you have asked us to hold
and take care of for you, Grandfather.

We see many of our brothers and sister
are sick in their hearts and bodies,
and the Earth Mother cries with tears of the souls
of many who now walk upon the rainbows with you.

We know that if one child cries or is sick
it is because the sacred hoop of love is broken by hate and lies.
We have only to listen to our hearts and speak the truth
that is spoken within the great circle of life.

The power of our vision, Oh Great Spirit, is within our hands.
We have only to speak it and share it, each in our own way.
I hear you speaking Grandfather, form the Sacred Place,
from Pa-ha Wast-ta: The Mountain Beautiful.

You call to us to sing in a sacred way,
and to dance in a sacred way
so that we might heal ourselves.
In doing so also heal others, as the sacred circle fills
and ever expands with all human beings
and our understanding of all living things grows,
with the light from within.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Out of the blue and into the black light, the Eagle wields thunder bolts to clear shadows from the world; the Swan brings love and peace on Earth, clearing the perceived illusion of a grievance that hangs like a dark shadow in the hearts of the indigenous peoples of the earth, sounding like sorrow and ringing true in their ears so their eyes see a loss deeply rooted in an illusion shinning in the blue cloak of day, returning the sacred stone of the sun to the children of the earth heart, who lay sleeping in the mists of her dream time.

The colors of the rainbow like the 7 tribes are the keepers of the sacred holding the key to the sacred tree of life, the color is the shadow you see, the light is the wood in the tree. Magic was there, moving in the air, carrying her fragrance everywhere. - It was all just an echo of her dream, the nature of loves story singing across the fields. The web has been woven; the sacred light fabric is spun the time to heal the sacred waters of creation has begun. We are the ancient ones remembering our own story as we tread lightly on the mist seeing with the eyes in the souls of feet, standing inside our own essence looking through the sun in the house of the soul.
Hokia ki ngā maunga Kia purea koe E ngā hau o Tawhirimatea. Return to the mountains to be purified by the winds of Tawhirimatea.

When one has kissed the sky and sat in the room with gods, Listened to angels - watching civilizations unfold in a moment glance as legends create corridors to the heavens in time, while stars are being born. We never come back, there is no coming back or going back, it is the journey of many many lifetimes, and a journey many are still yet to begin, a journey of discovery that will unfold over many more lifetimes for those who are about to begin. Opening the womb of consciousness the river flows, the flood begins a fire of truth awakening the world to a new light.

A new learning to begin the healing. As the cycles of the galactic clock of ages slowly grinds the wheels of time to a halt, the keepers of the records begin to strike the bells of peace loudly sending ripples across the ocean of consciousness, sounding the beginning of the age of golden light is near, as the goddesses of love prepare to birth the new age of abundance into the darkness of day, and onto the fabric of creation, the children of freedom begin to rise and shine their love, casting their music across the earth like waves as the beginning approaches like the mist of a rainbow. As the gods gently turn back the hands of time, navigating us toward the stars, may we begin to enter through the gateway of the heavens in peace and back home into the realms of magic. Back home beyond forever into the healing balms of loves abyss, born from the sacred fire of spirit and nourished by the sacred spring of love eternal waters. Remembering, we are loves infinite power. This is the turning of the ages and the return to love, as written in the prophecy.

The taking back is a returning to love; nothing was ever lost but the true wisdom of love which remains deep in the waters of the sacred earth. There is nothing to fight, the goddess is on our side. There is no fight left in her, just love. And that's the best thing that ever happened for her. For far too long the futile battle of light & dark has left her exhausted. She's accepting both light & dark as the inherent gifts of the universe. She's not in a dueling match with them. The light no longer wishes to 'reform' her dark, and her dark no longer wants to 'control' the light. Suddenly, she's not playing the polarity game. She's not fooled into buying the teaching that there's something wrong with her that needs fixing, and she's got work to do before she's finally 'good'. Her divinity is in fully embracing her humanity. All of it. So where's the imperfection? The myth that one day light will vanquish the dark and there will be peace would have kept her exhausted & imprisoned. She's already at peace right now! Even the light and dark within her are sitting at peace with each other. Game over. What she's experiencing in the ceasing of war is an unbelievable tranquility & peace. Thank goddess she believed in her own wisdom.

Love The empath can feel what makes the heart heavy. In her right hand she holds a magical instrument with which she eliminates what makes the heart heavy so it becomes as light as the Feather of Truth. This instrument is the Goddess Eye that is framed in a golden triangle. From this Eye streams a beam of bolt of lightning that frees the world. When the Goddess Eye retreats from the world evil reigns for a time; when the Goddess Eye returns evil is destroyed, old world psychic forms are broken and a new world begins. It is now that the Eye returns. When alchemical transformation takes place chi or primal energy is conserved in this time by breathing vital energy up. At the Full Moon chi is converted into chi and gathered as the Elixir of Immortality. Rhythmic movement and breath are used to convert chi to chi. This way primal lead is transformed into the gold of love and divine union occurs within. This inner Alchemy will then be realized in the outer world. Ascending the lunar wave is like surfing, each lunar cycle brings good tidings that become greater if we maintain our balance and stay on the boat.

If you talk to nature, nature will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not communicate you will not know, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys.” So come, she is waiting to sing to you and talk about love.
Spiritual Ecology, the philosophy of the nature of love is a political assassin. Environmentalism is the Medicine of the future, nature’s book of wisdom and the nature love - the tree of life, and when humanity raises children with love and learns to learns love, then love can take over the world.

By Joni Bridge re posted with permission.
Thank you for sharing this with us at We are all Part of the Earth.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

As both Friends and environmentalists we on the Spiritual Nurturance Committee of Quaker Earthcare Witness hold a variety of personal views, beliefs and approaches based in the variety of our backgrounds, traditions and experiences. We see it as good for QEW to endeavor to work with all who share our basic goals, both QEW participants and others.

For their own personal reasons Friends choose different language as they support and share in the work of QEW. Here are some examples: "In caring for nature we come closer to the Great Mystery." "The creative, beautiful earth is permeated with the sacred Ground of Being, the same Ground within which we dwell." "We are kin to the eagle and the oak and the rain and the sun; in this family we are loved and are called to love in return." "Jesus said the essence of faith is to love the Lord God and to love your neighbor; caring for all of the creation that God has so lovingly given us is an important way to express our love for God and others." "The ecosystem is our home, our body; we seek a life that affirms our unity with nature." Building with the forms of religious expression that speak to us, we unite in seeking a spiritual response to Earth’s needs.

Within the Spiritual Nurturance Committee we have collectively lived out the experience of acknowledging diversity while seeking and remaining in unity. We value inclusivity in our relations with each other. We commit ourselves to trying to focus on the spirit rather than the letter, listening and speaking from the heart, and seeking and sharing from the heart, in the manner of Friends. We recommend this model to QEW for our work with one another and with other organizations. We offer the seeming paradox of diversity within the supportive and inclusive structure of our unity.

Even as we differ in how we characterize these issues, we are in unity on our support of each other individually and collectively and of the purposes expressed in the following words:

Purpose of the organization from the Articles of Incorporation of FCUN, now QEW:

To search and to help others to search for that life which affirms the unity of all creation.
To apply and to help others to apply Friends’ practice to live in deep communion with all life spirit.
To be guided by and to help others to be guided by the light within us to participate in the healing of the earth.
To provide resources, networking, and support to yearly and monthly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends, and to others of whatever persuasion; to help them in their search for effective ways to achieve the above objectives.
To provide a reflective and energetic forum that will strengthen and deepen that spiritual unity with nature which values the integrity, diversity, and continuity of life on earth.
Vision & Witness of QEW from the amended Articles of Incorporation:

We are called to live in right relationship with all Creation, recognizing that the entire world is interconnected and is a manifestation of God. We work to integrate into the beliefs and practices of the Religious Society of Friends the Truth that God’s Creation is to be respected, protected, and held in reverence in its own right and the Truth that human aspirations for peace and justice depend upon restoring the Earth’s ecological integrity. We promote these Truths by being patterns and examples, by communicating our message, and by providing spiritual and material support to those engaged in the compelling task of transforming our relationship with the Earth.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Countries are made of many different kinds of people from many different places. But sometimes countries have an official religion, or a national political party. If you are different from the majority, you still have the right to your own religion and your own opinions, and have the right to practice your religion and express your opinions in public and in private.

Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (UN General Assembly Resolution 36/55 of 25 November 1981)
Report from the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, appointed by the Commission on Human Rights in 1986.

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act (commonly abbreviated to AIRFA) is a US federal law and a joint resolution of Congress that was passed in 1978. It was created to protect and preserve the traditional religious rights and cultural practices of American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts and Native Hawaiians. These rights include, but are not limited to, access of sacred sites, repatriation of sacred objects held in museums, freedom to worship through ceremonial and traditional rites, including within prisons, and use and possession of objects considered sacred. The Act required policies of all governmental agencies to eliminate interference with the free exercise of Native religion, based on the First Amendment, and to accommodate access to and use of religious sites to the extent that the use is practicable and is not inconsistent with an agency's essential functions. It also acknowledged the prior violation of that right. Public Law 95-341 95th Congress Joint Resolution American Indian Religious Freedom.

Whereas the freedom of religion for all people is an inherent right, fundamental to the democratic structure of the United States and is guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution; Whereas the United States has traditionally rejected the concept of a government denying individuals the right to practice their religion, and as a result, has benefited from a rich variety of religious heritages in this country; Whereas the religious practices of the American Indian (as well as Native Alaskan and Hawaiian) are an integral part of their culture, tradition, and heritage, such practices forming the basis of Indian identity and value systems; Whereas the traditional American Indian religions as an integral part of Indian life, are indispensable and irreplaceable; Whereas the lack of a clear, comprehensive, and consistent Federal policy has often resulted in the abridgment of religious freedom for traditional American Indians; Whereas such religious infringements result from the lack of knowledge of the insensitive and inflexible enforcement of Federal policies and regulations premised on a variety of laws; Whereas such laws were designed for such worthwhile purposes as conservation and preservation of natural species and resources but were never intended to relate to Indian religious practices and, there, were passed without consideration of their effect on traditional American Indian religions; Whereas such laws and policies often deny American Indians access to sacred sites required in their religions, including cemeteries; Whereas such laws at times prohibit the use and possession of sacred objects necessary to the exercise of religious rites and ceremonies; Whereas traditional American Indian ceremonies have been intruded upon, interfered with, and in a few instances banned; Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress Assembled, That henceforth it shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut, and Native Hawaiians, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites.

SEC. 2. The President shall direct that various Federal departments, agencies, and other instrumentalities responsible for the administering relevant laws to evaluate their policies and procedures in consultation with Native traditional religious leaders in order to determine appropriate changes necessary to protect and preserve Native American religious cultural rights and practices. Twelve months after approval of this resolution, the President shall report back to Congress the results of his evaluation, including any changes which were made in administrative policies and procedures, and any recommendations he may have for legislative action.

Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore, The General Assembly, Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11
1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14
1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15
1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16
1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.

3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17
1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21
1 . Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23
1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25
1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27
1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29
1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
To learn more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the background leading to its passage by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948, visit the Frankline and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute website.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

We all are part of the Earth "The earth is the mother of all people and all people should have equal rights upon it." Says Chief Joseph one of great Chiefs of the Nez Perce people. This should include the right to our spiritual practices as individual human beings and distinct cultures. We are in one harmony and universal interconnectivity “Embracing and learning from our differences, changes fear of the unknown into acceptance and tolerance leading to the ultimate bond of unification” Johnathan Shooting Star, in the Confluence of life as distinct human beings living and learning how to love the Creator and the creation, ourselves and others as the Spirit of the Creator has given to each of us this right. This is a right not a privilege. No religion or human should ever impair another from seeking and fulfilling and taking responsibility for his own understanding of his relationship with the Creator. The religions of the world should work together in solidarity for all who seek this goal. When the Creator himself gave the peoples of world different religious ceremonies so that people in different regions could understand the Creator and the Creation from their perspectives. These different ways of doing and understanding religious thought were never supposed to separate us. They were however intended to help us understand each other and see our commonplace in the circle of life. Chief Joseph also said "I believe much trouble would be saved if we open our hearts more".